Narrowly tailored event protocol set to go live in weeks
Investors have until 14 October to sign up to an Isda protocol aimed at stamping out narrowly tailored credit events (NTCEs) from the CDS market.

Roll week leaves CDS in strange places
CDS traders navigate a much-changed landscape in October, after one of the most impactful index rolls in recent times. 

Ucits at a glance
A round-up of ucits fund performance

Political risk puts December in focus as CDS investors play index volatility
Selling implied volatility has been prominent among CDS investors since last month’s iTraxx and CDX index rolls, says BNP Paribas in a research piece, with December a popular point of focus for trades

Federated's US and European businesses launch high yield impact funds
Federated Investors, Hermes Investment Management and UBS have joined forces to launch new high yield credit funds, which are in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework. The vehicles take the form of a Ucits offering and a mutual fund

Steinhoff CDS fails to (physically) deliver
A credit event auction for Steinhoff Europe revealed very little interest to physically settle CDS contracts, with only one request to buy and for just €8.4 million

Thomas Cook is a lesson for CLOs on unsecured bonds, says TwentyFour AM
The liquidation of UK travel operator Thomas Cook this week has underscored that “unsecured debt has no place in CLOs,” according to a note by Aza Teeuwen, portfolio manager at TwentyFour Asset Management

Mediobanca hires former credit derivatives trading head
Mediobanca has hired an experienced credit trader to its office in Milan

Steinhoff CDS buyers set for low pay-out
A credit event auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe has returned an initial market midpoint of 83.5, implying there will be a low pay-out of less than 17 cents for protection buyers on the defaulted retailer

We are not Thomas Cook speculators, says Xaia
Xaia Investment, a Munich-based fund manager, has refuted accusations it profited from Thomas Cook’s downfall by speculating on the company through CDS

Thomas Cook puts older and newer version CDS on separate planes
Thomas Cook’s filing for chapter 15 protection in New York last week means older version CDS contracts with a 20 September maturity triggered pay-outs, the Determinations Committee has ruled. But the worth of newer format CDS with the same maturity remains unclear ahead of a further DC meeting on Friday

Franklin Templeton reorganises long-short credit fund team
Asset manager Franklin Templeton Investments will make changes to the portfolio managers for the Franklin K2 Long Short Credit funds, effective from October

Thomas Cook CDS protection buyers could be left stranded
Thomas Cook Group’s triggering of a bankruptcy credit event spells a high pay-out for some CDS protection buyers, with implied recovery values heading towards zero. But the fate of contracts maturing at last week’s CDS roll still hung in the balance at time of press

Nine bidders for Steinhoff CDS auction as SocGen joins
Tomorrow’s auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe will have nine participating bidders, after Societe Generale was added to the list

Danish pensions join forces on green strategy
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has announced that Danish pension funds are set to commit DKK350 billion in green investments, during an event prior to UN Climate Summit in New York  

Deadline day for participating bidders as Steinhoff auction looms
Firms wishing to be participating bidders in Wednesday’s auction to settle Steinhoff Europe CDS have until 5pm today London time (12pm New York) to submit applications to the Determinations Committee

Thomas Cook credit event questions queue up as rescue talks collapse
The weekend collapse of UK travel operator Thomas Cook has brought two more requests for the Determinations Committee to rule on credit event triggers – one for bankruptcy and another for failure to pay

Dechert adds funds partner in Dublin office
Dechert adds official from Maples Group 

Thomas Cook credit event question travels beyond index roll, as Steinhoff deliverables finalised
An auction next week to settle Steinhoff Europe CDS will have two deliverable obligations, the Determinations Committee has confirmed. But resolution of a bankruptcy credit event question on iTraxx Crossover name Thomas Cook spills over beyond today’s roll into a new series, after the DC was unable to reach a decision this week

Swiss manager expands credit capabilities with hire
Asset manager GAM Investments has appointed a credit specialist in a bid to strengthen its global income team  

Schroders appoints head of sustainable credit
The hire, Schroders anticipates, will "deliver the very best in ESG credit investment solutions for clients"

Thomas Cook looks set to fly solo as default in outgoing Crossover series 31
The Determinations Committee has accepted a request to rule on whether Thomas Cook Group has triggered a bankruptcy credit event, after the UK-based travel company filed for chapter 15 protection in New York

BlueBay launches global leveraged finance fund
BlueBay Asset Management has launched a global leveraged finance fund that is able to allocate towards high yield bonds, leveraged loans, structured credit and investment grade assets

Go long CLO triple-A and pick cash bonds over CDS, says JP Morgan
Going long European CLO triple A paper remains one of JP Morgan strategists’ favourite trades following the European Central Bank stimulus announcement last week, despite these tranches having rallied 14bp on average since the bank first backed them. They also predict cash credit to outperform CDS

Date set for long-delayed Steinhoff auction, with two deliverables
An auction to settle CDS referencing Steinhoff Europe will take place on Wednesday next week – six months after the Determinations Committee ruled that the retailer had triggered a failure-to-pay credit event